AB 495 Lets Parents Name Short‑Term Guardians After ICE Arrests — Parental‑Rights Groups Push Back

California Assembly Bill 495 (Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025) would allow parents to designate short-term joint guardians — including nonrelative extended family members — to care for children if a custodial parent is temporarily unavailable because of serious medical issues, military service, incarceration, or immigration-related administrative actions such as ICE arrests. Authored by Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez, the bill is positioned as a safeguard amid increased interior enforcement but has drawn pushback from parental-rights groups concerned about custody transfers and erosion of parental authority. The measure is set for a California Senate Appropriations Committee hearing and sits within a broader accelerating pattern of state and local policy responses in California to mitigate harms to children from federal immigration enforcement.